‘I like the “outernet” stuff:’ girls’ perspectives on physical activity and their environments

ABSTRACT

Physical activity in Canada mirrors the gender gap observed globally, with boys more likely than girls to meet recommended guidelines. While a growing body of research has examined the relationships between environmental factors and children’s physical activity levels, much less is known about how environments play a role in gendering physical activity. In this paper, using a material feminist approach to environmental affordances, we explore girls’ perspectives on the features of their everyday environments that support or inhibit their uptake of physical activities in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As part of the larger multi-method Spatial Temporal Environment and Activity Monitoring (STEAM) project, we held six focus groups with girls ages 10–12 years from rural, suburban, and urban schools. Through inductive thematic analysis, we identified two themes: (1) Outdoor matter matters for physical activity, and (2) Social levers and liabilities shape physical activity affordances. Our results indicate that some girls may be better afforded physical activity opportunities by providing proximate outdoor play in spaces with natural elements and diverse infrastructure, coupled with efforts to alleviate social liabilities (e.g., care responsibilities) and leverage social supports (e.g., peers). Based on our findings, we put forward naturalised schoolyards as a potentially gender-sensitive physical activity intervention. This study contributes to identifying the gendered ways in which environments may differentially ‘afford’ children opportunities for physical activity, thereby opening the way for developing more gender-equitable interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• physical activity
• environment
• nature
• youth

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Thanks to an anonymous reviewer prompting us to further explore and develop this point.

Additional information

Funding

Coen was supported by postdoctoral fellowships from the Children’s Health Research Institute through the Children’s Health Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (#158211). Mitchell and Tillman received graduate student trainee support from the Children’s Health Research Institute Quality of Life Initiative funded through the Children’s Health Foundation. The STEAM project was jointly funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Notes on contributors

Stephanie E. Coen

Stephanie E. Coen is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory in the Department of Geography at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada). Her research interests include critical geographies of health, qualitative and creative research methods, and feminist geographies.

Christine A. Mitchell

Christine A. Mitchell completed her MA in health geography in the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada) and is currently a Project Coordinator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. Her research and professional practice interests include better understanding spatial access in relation to health and healthcare.

Suzanne Tillmann

Suzanne Tillmann completed her MSc and worked as a Project Manager in the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada). Her interests include child-centred research methods, children’s experiences of nature, and children’s mental health.

Jason A. Gilliland

Jason A. Gilliland is Director of the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory and Full Professor in the Departments of Geography, Paediatrics, and Epidemiology & Biostatistics, as well as the School of Health Studies at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada). His research explores social and environmental determinants of health, and develops interventions to improve children’s health and quality of life.